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                         Vol.4, No.23 [*] April 14, 1999
                         -------------------------------

          Assam Online wishes its readers a happy Rongali Bihu.
   -------------------------------------------------------------------

1  CBI PROBE SOUGHT INTO BRAHMAPUTRA HOSPITAL FUND SCAM  [S:13-APR-99]
   ----------------------------------------------------
   GUWAHATI:   In a bid to safeguard his dream project of setting up a
   Rs.1.5  billion  state-of-the-art  cancer  speciality  hospital  in
   Assam,  Dr  Biraj Kumar Bhuyan, a non-resident Assamese and pioneer
   of the Brahmaputra Hospitals Limited (BHL) has shot off a letter to
   the Central Bureau  of  Investigation  (CBI)  to  register  a  case
   against  Mr  K.S.Abdul  Aziz,  the  executive director of BHL and a
   resident of Mumbai for fraudulent manipulation  of  large  sums  of
   money through forgery, and misrepresentation of facts pertaining to
   the functioning of the hospital.

2  AHRC ASK GOVT TO PAY COMPENSATION TO SCHOOL TEACHER   [S:14-APR-99]
   ---------------------------------------------------
   GUWAHATI:  Holding a group of Assam police commando, also known  as
   Black  Panthers,  responsible  for grotesque abuse of human rights,
   the Assam Human  Rights  Commission  (AHRC)  has  asked  the  Assam
   Government  to  pay  compensation  of  Rs.5,000 to a school teacher
   Dilip Das, and to institute an inquiry against  the  erring  police
   personnel and submit a report to the Commission by August 2.
   
   AHRC  member  Paramananda  Kalita  said  that the Commission, after
   going through reports in newspapers and  making  an  inquiry  found
   that,  Dilip  Das,  a  resident of Amranga Barihar Tatipara village
   under Mirza police station near Guwahati had failed  to  utter  his
   name in  front of the Black Panther jawans.  The jawans then forced
   the teacher to kneel down for about 15  minutes  at  the  point  of
   their guns.

3  FORMER CEO OF ASCARD BANK SELL  OFFICE VEHICLES       [S:12-APR-99]
   -----------------------------------------------
   GUWAHATI:  The former chief executive officer of  the  Assam  State
   Cooperative  Agricultural  Rural Development Bank (ASCARD) sold two
   vehicles of the bank when he  was  in  office  two  years  ago  and
   pocketed the  entire  sale proceeds. 
   
   The  operation  was  carried  out so smoothly that it took two long
   years for the matter to come to light.  That too when the purchaser
   of the vehicles turned up at  the  bank  in  connection  with  some
   documents of the vehicles.
   
   When  the  former  CEO  was  called,  he  admitted  having sold the
   vehicles and that he had not deposited  the  money  in  the  bank's
   accounts.  He  had  taken  it for himself.  When told to return the
   money immediately, he said that the bank adjust the amount from his
   salary bill which had not been paid to him for several months.
   
   Only when the bank authority warned him of legal action, the former
   CEO agreed to return the money in instalment.  Latest reports said,
   Rs.53,000 is still due from him.  The bank authority has not  taken
   any action against the former CEO.
   
4  BARPETA ROAD CIVIC BODY CHIEF IN JAIL CUSTODY         [S:12-APR-99]
   ---------------------------------------------
   BARPETA ROAD:  Police arrested the chairman  of  the  Barpeta  Road
   Municipality  Board, Mr Bhabendra Choudhury on charges of making an
   attempt to  kill  a  local  leader  of  Communist  Party  of  India
   (Marxist), Mr  Sambhu  Das with his car on April 10.  Mr Choudhury,
   who had been picked up by the police on April 10, was arrested  and
   sent to jail on April 11.
   
   The arrest was made after a case was filed by  the  CPI(M)  leader,
   and  the  Barpeta district Superintendent of Police made an inquiry
   into the  incident.    The  local  activists  of  the  CPI(M)  also
   demonstrated  before  the  Barpeta  Road  police  station demanding
   arrest of the chairman after the incident.  The personnel  security
   guards of Mr Chaudhury have been withdrawn.
   
5  MISUSE OF GOLAGHAT DRDA FUNDS ALLEGED                 [S:14-APR-99]
   -------------------------------------
   GOLAGHAT:   At  a  time  when  the  disappearance of eight truck of
   cement  sent  from  Bokajan  cement  factory  to   District   Rural
   Development  Agency  (DRDA), Golaghat is being investigated, misuse
   of funds amounting to Rs.4 million meant for  the  construction  of
   171 houses under the Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) in Gomari development
   block during  1996-97,  has  come to light.  It is alleged that the
   contractors, in  collaboration  with  officials,  used  low-quality
   cement,  timber,  tin-sheets  and  other building materials for the
   construction.

6  FORGED MONEY ORDERS DETECTED                          [S:14-APR-99]
   ----------------------------
   JORHAT:  A racket involved in defrauding the post offices thousands
   of rupees by sending false money orders from different post offices
   of Assam has come to light.
   
   According  to a complaint by Tarajan sub-postoffice staff to Jorhat
   police, though no money order was sent from the  sub-postoffice,  a
   postoffice  of  Sian  district  in Bihar received three false money
   orders amounting to Rs.11,800 on March 16 bearing seals of  Tarajan
   sub-postoffice.
   
   It  is suspected that the racket is based in Bihar as similar false
   money orders, allegedly sent from Teok sub-postoffice to persons in
   Bihar  were  detected  earlier.  Police  does  not  rule  out   the
   involvement of postal officials in the racket.
   
   Meanwhile,  the  sub-postmaster  of  Naharbari  sub-postoffice  and
   another person in Sonitpur district who had been arrested by police
   on charges of selling fake five-rupee postal stamps  and  one-rupee
   revenue stamps,  were sent to  jail custody on April 10. The postal
   inspector, Tezpur seized 13 five-rupee  postal  tickets  and  eight
   one-rupee revenue stamps from the sub-postoffice.
   
7  RICKSHAW PULLERS OF SUSPECTED NATIONALITY HELD        [S:13-APR-99]
   ----------------------------------------------
   JORHAT:   Traffic  police  in  Jorhat  seized  about  100 rickshaws
   without license and handed over the rickshaw-pullers to the  border
   police to  ascertain their nationalities.  It may be mentioned that
   a number of rickshaw-pullers of suspected nationalities  have  been
   working in Jorhat district.
   
8  BIHUWAN TO CANCER PATIENTS TO CELEBRATE BIHU          [S:14-APR-99]
   --------------------------------------------
   GUWAHATI:   On  the  occasion  of Rongali Bihu and the Assamese New
   Year, South Central Guwahati Rongali Bihu Sanmilani is organizing a
   function at B.Barooah Cancer Institute and  at  Lokapriya  Gopinath
   Bordoloi  Chest  Hospital, in which there will be free distribution
   of  fruits,  nutrients  and  `bihuwan'  to  all  patients  of   the
   hospitals.
   
   While celebrating the national festival  of  Assamese  people  with
   pomp  and  grandeur  in  Guwahati  it  is an endeavour to share the
   sufferings of those at the hospitals on that  day,  the  organizers
   said.  The expenses are sponsored by the Reliance Telecom, the Bihu
   Sanmilani and Choudhury Medical Hall.

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